The largest expenses in construction are the cost of labor and the cost of materials. In the past, however, building materials were much more expensive than labor. Because the materials were so expensive, the so-called “pre-war” era in building construction emphasized spending significant man-hours to make the most of the materials being used. Thus, elaborate woodwork and plasterwork are typically found in “pre-war” buildings.
In modern construction, however, labor costs now greatly eclipse the cost of building materials. Industrialization has made building materials cheaper and has increased the average standard of living, thus increasing labor costs. Accordingly, during many standard construction operations, the labor cost can easily be ten times the cost of the materials used during a given time period of the operation.
The pace of construction has also slowed considerably due to the high demand for skilled labor. For example, once a building is framed, with the doors, windows, and electrical and plumbing systems installed, it may be ready for sheetrock installation. But if skilled sheetrockers are not available, all construction must wait—often days or weeks—until they become available. These delays can be costly to not only the general contractor, but also to the client.
Clearly, the path to reducing construction costs and increasing construction speed is to reduce the labor expenditure necessary to complete a given construction path. Labor costs and needs can be reduced by completing during manufacturing more of the tasks ordinarily performed on site. Labor costs and needs can be further reduced by lowering the skill level necessary to complete many on-site construction tasks.
Various systems have been devised and developed that seek to simplify construction processes using pre-fabricated components. While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present disclosure as disclosed hereafter.
In the present disclosure, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed and it is contemplated that the claims may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.